| ALBANY---Even though the NYS Department of Motor Vehicles has presumably withdrawn its new regulation pertaining to motor vehicle inspections after it met strong opposition by the State Legislature, DMV is still advertising the new regulation on its website.
http://www.nydmv.state.ny.us/stickexp.htm
DMV officials say the change was made so that garages and other inspection stations weren't faced with a big rush at the end of the month. Beginning Jan. 1, licensed inspection stations began issuing new inspection stickers that showed a 10-day window period for getting the vehicle inspected when the sticker expires in 2007.
The new inspection stickers expired in one of three time periods during the month rather than on the last day of the month.
"The new inspection stickers the DMV has issued to inspection stations for 2006 are designed to distribute inspections more evenly throughout each month", the former regulation said. "The new stickers have three boxes that display the numbers 1-10, 11-20 and 21-30. The numbers indicated the 10-day period of the month during which the inspection was completed. The inspector punches a hole in the box that indicates the inspection was completed during a specific 10-day period of the month. The sticker then expired at midnight on the last day of that period in the following year."
"For example, your vehicle is inspected on March 16, 2006. The inspector selects the box that displays the numbers 11-20. Your sticker and inspection will expire at midnight on March 20, 2007, the last day of the 10-day period indicated on your sticker."
But the new regulation immediately attracted opposition from lawmakers, especially in the Capital District region of the state. Assemblyman Paul Tonko of Amsterdam and Sen. Hugh Farley of Niskayuna are co-sponsoring a bill that would amend the Vehicle and Traffic Law, maintaining that inspection stickers "shall be valid until midnight on the last day of the month punched thereon" as has been the previous policy.
In face of the stringent opposition, DMV said it had withdrawn its regulation but under new DMV commissioner Renato Donato Jr. said it still favored the proposed rule and would probably try to find a way around the Legislature to implement it.
However, there is strong support in the Legislature to leave the expiration policy as it has been---at the end of the month rather than in staggered periods.
In a statement issued by Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno said that "anyone who received a new inspection sticker within the last six weeks that has beginning, middle or end of the month inspection times now can wait until the end of the month (as has always been the case) to get their vehicles inspected". 2-19-06 © 2005 North Country Gazette |
